Michael J. Gaines (born March 30, 1980 in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He was drafted by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

in the seventh round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

UCF The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. Gaines has also played for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Early years

Gaines attended

Florida High School Florida State University School (FSUS) is a laboratory school located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is sponsored by Florida State University and works in close collaboration with the Florida State University College of Education. T ...

which is a developmental school associated with

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

As a football standout, he played six different positions, including backup

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and finished his high school career with 56 receptions, 1,715 receiving yards and 20

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. He earned first-team all-state recognition as a junior and senior and registered 20 receptions for 535 yards and nine touchdowns in addition to collecting 110 tackles on defense as a senior. Gaines was rated the number one tight end in Florida. He was the first player from his school to participate in the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

High School All-Star Game.

College career

Gaines played in 23 games with four starts for the University of Central Florida. He recorded 22 receptions for 306 yards and three touchdowns. In 2003, he was selected to play in the

Blue-Gray Game Livid is a medium bluish- gray color. This color name comes from the Latin color term ''lividus'' meaning "'a dull leaden-blue color', and also used to describe the color of contused flesh, leading to the English expression 'black and blue'" ...

. During Gaines Junior season at UCF, he had a stellar breakout game against Toledo, (Ohio). During the game, Gaines caught what was to have been a short yard gain for a first down, but he displayed balance and athleticism that caught the eye of NFL scouts. Gaines proved to be virtually unstoppable against the Toledo defense.

Professional career

At 6'4 and close to 280 pounds, Gaines has the reputation of a blocking tight end, often lining up in double tight end or goal line formations. Through the 2007 NFL season, Gaines has started 35 of the 57 games he has played in. In 2007 with the Bills, Gaines set career highs in receptions (25) and reception yardage (215). He tied a career-high with 2 touchdown receptions.

Carolina Panthers

One of four

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

draft choices to start a game for Carolina in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, along with

Keary Colbert Patrick Keary Jerel Colbert (born May 21, 1982) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the wide receivers coach at the University of Florida. Colbert played as a wide receiver and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers ...

Chris Gamble Chris Lee Gamble (born March 11, 1983) is a former American football cornerback who played nine seasons for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ohio State. High school career and personal l ...

, and

Travelle Wharton Glenn Travelle Wharton (born May 19, 1981) is an American football offensive line coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as an offensive lineman at the University of South Carolina ...

Buffalo Bills

On September 10, 2007 he signed with the Buffalo Bills. His first touchdown catch as a Buffalo Bill came on October 28 on a fourth and goal situation.

Detroit Lions

Michael Gaines DE On March 3, 2008, he signed with the

. He was released on April 29, 2009.

Chicago Bears

Gaines signed a 1-year deal with the

on May 11, 2009. He was released on October 17 after the Bears acquired

Gaines Adams Gaines Adams (June 8, 1983 – January 17, 2010) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for Clemson University, and was recognized ...

from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Bears release tight end Gaines
/ref>

Cleveland Browns

Gaines signed with the

on October 21, 2009.

Houston Texans

Gaines signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

on April 23, 2010, but was released in the preseason.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Michael 1980 births Living people Players of American football from Florida American football tight ends UCF Knights football players Carolina Panthers players Buffalo Bills players Detroit Lions players Chicago Bears players Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players